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OUR  PULPIT. 


Sunday  Lectures  of  Josepti  Kratiskopf. 


VOL.    V.  SUNDAY,  OcrobER  25th,  1891.  NO.    I, 


Theologies  many— Religion  one. 


PHILADELPHIA 
OSCAR  KLONOWER,  1827  PARK  A1ZETOE, 

Entered  at  the  Post-Office  at  Philadelphia,  as  «econd-class  matter 


Tfee  following  Books  are  for  Sale  by  (MAR  KLONOWER,  1827  Park  Ave.,  Pbilad' 
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RABBfjOSEPH KRAUSKOPF,  D.  D. 


EVOLUTION  AND  JUDAISM. 

An  attempt  to  bring  the  Problems  of  Modem  Philosophy  and  Science  as  influenc- 
ing Religious  Thoughts,  within  the  easy  comprehension  of  the  average  layman 
•    8vo  ,  342  pages.     Cloth  bound 

1.  The     Dynamic     and 

Force  of  Religion. 

2.  Evolution  and  the  Bil'le. 

3.  Creation  and  the  Bible. 
4    Matter  and  Force 

5.  The  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

6.  Darwinism. 

7.  Primeval  Man. 

8     Evolution  of  Man,  Intellectually. 

a.   Evolution  of  Man,  Socially. 
10.  Evolution  of  Man,  Religiously. 
it.   Evolution  of  Man,  Morally. 

12.  Evolution  and  God. 

13.  Evolution  and  Immortality. 

14.  Evolution  an  i  Worship. 

15.  Evolution  ot  Judaism. 

16.  Summary. 
Glossary. 
Index. 

TEWS  AND  MOORS  IN  SPAIN. 

A  Romance  and  a  History.       8vo.,  2,6  pag'-s      Cloth  bound ,-.- 


<Uf.g<><>  oo^c^  /»„  dU  f*.^?  —  ^  ~/  ~-?~~ 
OA.CC0-M,.       C7  «•«*. 


oc^uu   ™^,,   ..~~    ^Jy.    Composed  of  thirty  completely  different  English 
Services,   i.  eluding   Hymns,  suitable  for  Friday    evening  or  Sunday   morning 

services,  and   also   lor  home  service.     12 mo.,  205  pages.     Cloth  bound 

Bound  in  Morocco,  Gilt  Edges...... •• • 

cents  additional  for  postage. 

u Rabbi  and  Priest, 

A    STORY, 

By  MILTON  GOLDSMITH, 

ISSUED  BY  THE 

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PRICE,  POSTPAID,  ONE  DOLLAR. 


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"Rabbi  and  Priest."— PHILADELPHIA  EVENING  BULLETIN. 

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pictures  of  the  character,  life  and  sufferings  of  the  misunderstood  and  much  maligned 
jews  —BURLINGTON  HAWKEYE. 

A  thrilling,  simply  told  tale  of  Jewish  life  in  Russia -NEW  ORLEANS  PICAYUNE. 

A  strong  and  well  written  story.  — PUBLIC  OPINION.     (WASHINGTON,  D.  C  ) 

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Jheologies  many     Religion  one. 


A   Sunday   Lecture 

Before  the  Reform  Congregation  Keneseth  Israel, 
October  asth,  1891, 


BY 


Rabbi  JOSEPH  KRAUSKOPF,  D..D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESS  OF  S.  W.  GOODMAN,  No.  116  NORTH  THIRD  STREET. 
1891. 


SUNDAY    LECTURES. 

BY  RABBI  JOSEPH  KRAUSKOPF,  D.  D. 

SERIES!.  1887-1888. 

12.  Judaism  and  the  Ethical  Culture  Society. 


1.  The  Need  of  the  Hour. 

2.  The  Theology  of  the  Future. 


The  Feast  and  the  Fast. 
Mind  and  Belief. 


5.  The  Conquest  of  Evil. 

6.  Be  Right  I  o-day  ThoughWrong Yesterday 

7.  |  Orthodoxy. 

8.  TheThree  Foes  of  Judaism:  •<  Conservatism 

9.  I  Reform. 
10.  Judaism  and  Unitarianism. 

xi.  The  Feast  of  Esther. 


13.  he  Chosen  People. 

14.  The  Hebrew  and  The  Atheist. 

15.  An  Error  of  Eighteen  Hundred  Years  Cor- 

rected. 

16.  Passover  and  Easter. 

H  Who  is  Responsible :  { !££  State^ 

19.  The  American  and  his  Holidays. 

20.  The  Saturday-  and  the  Sunday-Sabbath. 


SERIES  II, 

Whence,  Whither  and  Why? 

The  Voice  of  the  People 

Uncharitable  Charity. 

Wife  and  Mother. 

Husband  and  Father. 

Origin  and  Descent. 

The  People  of  the  Book. 

Future  Reward  and  Punishment. 

The  Ideal  Commonwealth. 

The  Puritanic  Sabbath. 

EPOCHS  IN  JUDAISM  : 

I.  The  Mosaic  Age. 

11.  The  Prophetic  Aw. 

111.  The  Messianic  Age. 

IV      I  he  Rabbinic?1.  ACT- 


1888-1889. 

EPOCHS  IN  JUDAISM  CONTINUED  : 

15.  V.  The  Kabbalistic  Age. 

16.  VI.  The  Mendelssohnian  Age. 

17.  VII.  The  Present  Age. 

18.  Ashes  to  Ashes  or  Earth  to  Earth. 

19.  Sanitary  Science. 

20.  Does  Prohibition  Prohibit  ? 

21.  Intermarriage. 

22.  Convert  your  own — Let  Jews  alone. 

23.  The  25th  Anniversary  of  the  Cornerstone- 

Laying  of  Temple  Keneseth  Israel. 

24.  Abused  Benefactors. 

25.  ABenefactor Honored.  (Rev.Dr.I.M.Wise) 

26.  The  Real  Saving  Trinity. 

27.  The  Removal  of  the  Leaven, 
rfi.   Deed  through  Creed. 


SERIES  III.    1889— 189O. 


J.  "Eppur  si  Muove"  (And  yet  she  moves). 
2.  Jew  Against  Jew. 
3.  Possibilities  of  Youth. 
4.  Possibilities  of  Age. 
5.  Art  as  an  Educator. 
6.  A  Child's  Prayer. 
7.  Nurseries  of  Crime. 
8.  The  Jew  as  a  Patriot. 
9.  Are  We  Better  than  the  Heathen  ? 
10.  Business  Integrity, 
ii.  How  Molehills  into  Mountains  Grow. 
12.    How  Mountains  into  Molehills  Dwindle. 
13.  What  Love  Joins  —  No  Court  Sunders. 
14.   Religion  in  the  Laboratory. 

15.  Myths  in  the  Old  Testament. 
16.  Myths  in  the  New  Testament. 
17.  Living  for  Others. 
18.  Heredity. 
19,  Is  this  a  Christian  Nation? 
20.  Purim  and  Lent. 
21.  The  Tyranny  of  Fashion. 
22.    Religious    Unbelievers    and     Irreligious 
Believers. 
23.    War  Against  War. 
24.    Martyr's  Day. 
25.    Native  against  Foreigner. 
26.   Ancient  and  Modern  Saints. 
27.   Shifting  but  not  Drifting.  . 

SERIES  IV, 

i.    Westward  —  Not  Eastward. 
2.   The  Force  in  Nature—  God.    . 
3.   Gain  from  Pain. 
4.   Pain  from  Gain. 
5.  The  Law  of  Environment. 
6.   American  Apathy. 
7.   Eussia  and  her  Jews. 
8.   Among  the  Immortals. 
9.  After  Death-What?                                    • 
10.    Before  Death—  What  ? 

Jewish  Converts,  Perverts  and  Dissenters: 
ii.       I.  True  and  False  Converts. 
12.     II.  Jesus  —  a  Jew,  and  not  a  Christian. 
13.    III.  Paul—  The  Jew  and  the  Gentile. 
14.   IV.  Forced  Converts. 

189O-1SQ1. 

15.    V.  Allured  Perverts. 
16.   VI.  Spinoza-N.^t  a  Convert  nor  a  Pervert. 
,'17     VII,  Br-.llir.ht  Women  —  Ignoble  Perverts, 
iS.    V(JL  B^rriC  and  Fcine—  Perverts  through 
Christian  Intolerance. 
19.    IX.  Isaac  Disraeli  —  A  Pervert  through 
Jewish  Intolerance. 
20.   X.  Benj.  Disraeli  —  A  Convert,  yet  a  Jew. 
21.    XI.  The  Blank  Leaf  between  th«  Old  and 
the  New  Testament. 
22.    Love  as  a  Corrector. 
23.    Eyes  they  have,  and  see  not. 
24.    Ears  they  have,  and  hear  not. 
25.   Tongues  they  have,  and  speak  not. 
36.   The  Morning  Dawns. 

Theologies  many  --Religion  one. 

RAHUI  JOSIU'H    KKAl'SKOPK,   D.  I).. 
Philadelphia,  Oct.2^1i.  /,S'v/. 

Again  we  are  assembled,  in  large  numbers,  and  with  joyful  spirits, 
for  the  commencement  of  another  season  of  Sunday  Services,  in  addition 
to  our  regular  Saturday  Sabbath  Services.     For  the  fifth 
time  we  resume  to-day  our  gatherings,  during  the  Fall    %Vh?cluhe  slm- 

and  Winter  and  Spring  Sundays,  for  gratifying  the  soul's    day-Services  are 

resumed. 
craving  after  communionship  with  God,  for  drawing  in- 

spiration for  right-thinking  and  right-living  in  our  daily  walks,  for  drink- 
ing in  refreshing  draughts  from  the  fountains  of  knowledge  and  truth, 
and  for  an  occasional  theological  discussion,  or  investigation  of  some  of 
the  professed  creeds  and  dogmas. 

The  announcement  of  the  last  branch  of  this  season's  work  is,  I  fear, 
not  received  with  welcome  by  .some  of  you  gathered  here.  Theological 
questions,  I  might  even  include  the  Theologians  them-  Theology  mi- 
selves,  have  ceased  to  be  popular.  To  many  they  have  P°Pular- 
become  abhorrent.  Not  a  few  flee  from  the  theologian,  as  the  theologian 
himself  once  fled  from  His  Satanic  Majesty.  At  the  merest  mention  of 
Theology  or  Theologians  they  smell  the  odor  of  musty  volumes,  the 
effluvium  of  the  grave,  the  exhalations  of  streams  of  blood  innocently 
shed,  they  see  manacles  and  shackles  and  torturing  instruments,  they 
hear  the  cries  of  anguish  of  the  persecuted,  exiled,  tortured,  executed, 
they  .see  visions  of  the  martyred  Hypatia,  Savanarola,  Servetus,  Latimer, 
of  the  slaughter  of  the  Saxons,  of  the  annihilation  of  the  Albigenses,  of 
the  massacre  of  the  Jews  and  Huguenots,  of  the  murder  of  the  Hussites, 
see  the  affrighting  ghosts  of  Cyril,  Torquemada,  Catharine  de  Medici, 
Alva,  Cotton  Mather,  and  they  shrink  from  it,  as  they  would  from  poison 
draught  or  deadly  weapon. 

There  exists  in  the  minds  of  many,  and  much  it  is  to  be  regretted, 
a  sorrowful  confusion  between  Theology  and  the  Theologian.     Theology 

is  good,  the  Theologian  -may  be  bad.     Theology  is  neces- 

Theoloifv  con- 
sary  and  rational,   the  Theologian   may  be  unnecessary    founded  "with 


and  irrational.     Theology  is  a  pure  source  of  religion, 

Theologians  may  be  its  polluters.     Theology  is  the  benign  mother  of 

religion,  theologians  may  be  its  assassins. 

Without  theology  there  can  be  no  religion.  Before  the  heart  can 
feel  religiously,  the  mind  must  think  theologically.  Before  hand  and 
tongue  can  act  and  speak  godly,  theology  must  tell  that  without  theology 
there  is  a  God,  and  what  that  God  is,  and  what  that  God  no  religion. 
wants.  Before  we  can  know  how  to  use  this  life  of  ours,  we  must  form 
some  idea  as  to  what  it  is,  and  why  it  is,  and  whence  it  comes,  and 
wither  it  goes.  £20207 


'  .  -    . 


Theology  constituted  one  of  man's  first  thoughts,  and  to  this  day  it 
has  remained  his  highest  thought.  Long  before  theological  institutes 
were  dreamed  of,  theology  existed,  and  it  will  continue  to  exist,  even 
though  every  seminary  dedicated  to  its  study  be  destroyed.  As  long  as 
man  will  continue  human,  as  long  as  the  human  mind  will  remain  finite, 
as  long  as  the  ever-perplexing  and  the  ever-vexing  problems  of  life  will 
elude  the  grasp  of  exact  science,  as  long  as  birth  and  death  will  alternate, 
and  planets  revolve,  and  seasons  change,  and  the  grandeur  and  harmony 
and  wisdom  in  the  universe  overawe,  so  long  will  the  mind  search  after 
the  First  Cause,  and  trace  cause  to  the  Last  Effect.  And  the  few  faint 
glints  of  light,  that  it  will  gather  up  on  its  way,  it  will  reflect  in  an  in- 
finite variety  of  speculations  and  hypotheses,  of  dreams  and  fancies,  of 
creeds  and  dogmas,  all  of  which  will  constitute  its  Theology. 

Moreover,  theology  will  not  only  continue,  but  it  will  also  differ  in 
the  future  as  it  has  in  the  past.  As  long  as  men  wills  differ  physically, 
Theology  will  mentally,  and  morally,  in  age  and  in  environments,  in 
continue  to  differ.  circumstances  and  in  antecedents,  so  long  will  there  be 
an  unavoidable  difference  in  their  theological  conclusions.  The  First 
Cause  of  the  savage,  just  emerged  from  the  brute,  will  differ  from  the 
conception  of  it  in  the  mind  of  a  Herbert  Spencer,  and  the  Last  Effect 
in  the  mind  of  the  Esquimaux  will  differ  essentially  from  that  which  the 
inhabitant  of  sunny  Italy  will  form  of  it.  The  Pantheon  of  the  Oriental, 
accustomed  to  pompous  pageantry,  to  luxuriant  display,  to  voluptuous 
ease,  to  slavish  subjection,  will  differ  materially  from  that  of  the  plain, 
freedom-loving  American  or  Swiss.  To  sailor  and  to  mountaineer,  to  men 
constantly  exposed  to  trials  and  dangers,  to  those  whose  whole  existence 
is  solely  dependent  on  the  uncertain  products  of  the  soil,  to  the  poor  and 
heavy-laden,  Life — here  and  hereafter — will  have  an  altogether  different 
meaning  from  that  which  the  rich  and  the  strong,  the  happy  and  the 
young,  give  to  it.  who  live  sheltered  and  protected,  amidst  ease  and 
affluence,  on  the  broad  avenues  of  the  metropolis. 

And  much  I  fear  that  the  continuance  of  differing  theologies  will 
prolong  the  existence  of  discord-spreading  theologians.  As  in  the  past, 

there  will  be  men,  who,  from  choice  or  profession,  will 
Continuance  of 
differing  Theo-       surrender   themselves   to   theological   speculations,    will 

continuance  of  brood  and  ponder,  will  dream  and  guess,  until  they  will 
fighting  theolo-  mistake  the  few  faint  glints  of  light  for  luminous  revela- 
tions, their  guesses  for  proofs,  their  dreams  for  facts;  and, 
hoisting  their  own  theological  notions  high,  will  proclaim  them  as  the 
only  theology,  themselves  as  its  only  proper  enunciators,  and  declare  war 
against  all  holders  of  other  creeds  and  dogmas. 

There  has  never  been  a  theological  system  that  has  not  had  theolo- 
gians to  claim  superiority  for  it,  nor  has  there  been  a  people  on  the  face 
Excesses  of  theo-  °^  ^e  eartn  tnat  nas  not  been  distracted  and  torn  because 
logians.  of  such  a  claim.  Men,  calling  themselves  theologians — 

for  whom  idlers  or  peace-disturbers  had  been  a  fitter  name — keeping 
themselves  aloof  from  the  common  walks  of  life,  leading  for  the  most 


part  a  recluse  life,  coining  little  in  contact  with  their  fellowmen,  know- 
ing little  of  the  trials  and  tribulations,  of  the  joys  and  pleasures,  of  the 
real  needs  and  interests  and  desires,  of  human  society,  often  shunning 
home-  and  family-life,  deadening  the  heart  to  all  finer  sensibilities,  ab- 
sorbing themselves  wholly  in  abstract  speculations,  falling  prey  to  mys- 
ticism and  hallucination,  have  made,  during  many  dark  and  painful  cen- 
turies, of  helpful  and  needful  theology  a  most  horrible  monster,  so  much 
so,  that  to  this  day  the  merest  mention  of  it  fills  us  with  disgust  and 
alarm. 

That  the  abuse  of  theology  by  theologians,  the  attempt  to  force  one 
man's  creeds  and  dogmas  upon  another  of  totally  different  taste,  culture, 

environment,  ancestry,  modes  of  thought,  and  the  prac- 

,  .  ,  Not  theology  but 

tice  of  visiting  cruel  punishment  upon  him  for  refusing,    theologians  re- 
has  not  aroused  civilized  society  to  open  rebellion  against    pre 
theology,  has  not  driven  it  to  tearing  it  up,  root  and  all,  and  crushing  it 
forever,  is  indeed  surprising.     It  is  theology's  best  vindication  that  it  is 
not  responsible  for  its  abuse.     It  is  the  best  proof  that  rational  man  in- 
stinctively felt  that  not  theology,  but  the  theologian,  is  reprehensible. 

Rational  man  appreciated  the  benefit  of  civilization.  He  knew  that 
its  continuance  depended  on  the  continuance  of  religion,  and  that  the 
continuance  of  religion  depended  on  the  continuance  of  The  K00^  Of 
theology.  He  knew  that  to  have  society  pervaded  with  theology. 
a  love  of  justice  and  truth,  of  peace  and  good  will,  of  virtue  and  charity, 
to  have  the  mind  ennobled,  the  heart  softened,  to  make  progress  and 
enlightenment  possible  and  easy,  to  have,  in  brief,  man  think  divinely 
and  act  godly,  he  must  have  the  ministration  of  religion.  But,  he  also 
knew  that  religion,  to  achieve  such  lofty  ends,  must  be  invested  with  the 
highest  authority,  must  speak,  command,  direct,  in  the  name  of  a  Being 
supreme  in  power,  wisdom,  goodness.  The  proof  for  the  existence  of 
such  a  Supreme  Being,  endowed  with  such  attributes,  religion  could  de- 
rive from  theology  only.  It  alone  could  furnish  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  divine  origin  and  purpose  of  life,  and  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
With  these  First  Principles  of  Theology  for  a  foundation,  religion  could 
go  on  erecting  its  magnificent  ethical  structure,  without  any  other  help 
from  theology. 

These  First  Principles  of  Theology,  however,  seldom  contented  the 
theologians.  They  went  on  hatching  newr  creeds  and  new  dogmas,  form- 
ulating new  rites  amd  new  ceremonies,  imposing  new  re-  xhe  evil  of  Theo- 
strictions  and  new  obstacles,  which  made  life  a  burden,  logians. 
religion  a  hardship,  disturbed  the  peace  of  society,  impeded  progress,  and 
forced  men  into  hypocrisy  and  infidelity. 

It  is  amusing  to  hear  theologians  speak  of  the  great  benefits  their 
caste  conferred  upon  human  kind,  to  see  them  claiming  credit  for  bless- 
ings, wrought,  not  by  them,  but  by  religious  people,  and  often  despite 
their  opposition. 

I  make  a  distinction  between  theologians  and  religious  people.  By 
theologians  I  understand  those,  who  pfrofess  to  know  all  about  God  and 


Theologians  and    *ne  Hereafter;  who  profess  to  know  precisely  what  sect  is 

religious  people  God's  favorite  and  who  are  God's  appointed  and  annointed, 
contrasted.  •  ". 

and  where  and  when,  and  in  what  form  and  language, 

and  with  what  rites  and  ceremonies,  God  wrants  to  be  worshipped  by  man; 
who  regard  themselves  as  God's  detective  force  on  earth,  entrusted  with 
the  duty  to  see  that  even  the  minutest  detail  of  God's  want  is  scrupu- 
lously obeyed;  charged  even  to  visit  severe  punishment  upon  the  disobe- 
dient; and  who  prove  their  divine  appointment  by  their  really  marvelous 
powers  for  scenting  heresies,  and  for  unearthing  apostasies. — By  religious 
people  I  understand  those,  \vho,  without  much  talk  of  God,  who,  without 
claiming  much  knowledge  of  the  nature  and  essence  of  God,  lead  a  godly 
life,  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  as  revealed  by  their  reason,  and  by 
the  dictates  of  their  conscience. 

It  is  amusing  to  see  these  theologians  posing  as  the  great  lights.  Who 
are  the  real  lights  and  perpetuators  of  the  world's  religions?  Who  were 
Founders  and  ^ie  f°ull(lers  an(l  preservers  of  Judaism  ?  Who  were  they, 
Preservers  of  ju-  who  made  its  name  coextensive  with  the  whole  civilized 
gious  people  not  world,  and  beneficial,  wherever  once  heard  ?  Surely  not 
those  theologians,  who  wrote  ponderous  treatises  on  the 
nature  and  attributes  of  God,  on  the  mysteries  of  the  upper-  and  nether- 
world, who  elaborated  enormous  digests  on  the  ritualistic  and  ceremonial 
laws,  who  foisted  the  Kabbalah  and  the  Shulchan  Aruch  upon  the  reli- 
gion of  Israel,  who  made  Israel  a  peculiar  people,  who  set  upx  impassable 
barriers  between  them  and  other  people,  the  effects  of  which  have  been, 
and  still  are,  painfully  felt  ?  Nay,  not  these,  not  these. 

The  founders  and  preservers  of  Judaism  were  not  theologians  ;  they 
were  religious  people.  They  were  men  of  action,  not  dreamers.  They 
dealt  with  realities,  not  with  fancies.  They  dealt  with  people,  not  writh 
phrases.  They  were  men  who,  like  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  heard  within 
them  God's  voice  calling  them  aloud  for  great  work.  In  their  writings 
and  speeches  you  will  look  in  vain  for  a  theological  system,  or  for  a  trea- 
ties on  the  soul's  immortality,  or  'for  pictures  of  the  Hereafter.  But 
you  will  find  there  the  first  moral  code  known  to  History,  the  Ten 
Commandments,  and  a  Golden  Rule,  and  other  wise  laws,  regulating 
the  relationship  of  man  to  God,  to  the  state,  to  his  fellowmen,  and  to 
himself.  You'll  find  there  declaration  after  declaration,  that:  it  is  not 
sacrifice,  not  ceremony,  not  prayer  nor  penance,  that  God  wants  of  man, 
nothing  but — to  use  the  prophet  Micah's  summary — 'to  do  justly,  and  to 
love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  God. ' 

Who  were  the  great  lights  of  the  Christian  Church  ?  Who  were  they 
who  made  its  name  and  work  blessed  ?  Surely  not  those  spinners  of  fine- 
Same  true  in  drawn  theological  subtleties,  who  launched  schism  upon 
Christianity.  schism  upon  the  Church,  who  introduced  breach  upon 
breach  among  her  members,  and  shed  rivers  of  blood  in  consequence  ? 
Surely  not  they,  who  clogged  the  wheels  of  progress,  shackled  indepen- 
dent thought,  hurled  the  ban  upon  original  research,  brought  the  curse 
of  the  Dark  Ages,  the  inquisition,  the  torture-chamber,  the  stake,  the 


5 

autos  da  fe  upon  Europe,  because  of  their  unending  doctrinal  quarrels, — 
one  theologian  claiming  that  God  is  one,  the  other  insisting  upon  a  triune 
God;  one  claiming  that  the  Son  is  co-eternal  with  the  leather,  the  other 
that  the  Father  is  older  than  the  Son;  one  claiming  that  the  Son's  essence 
is  identical  with  that  of  the  Father,  the  other  that  it  is  only  similar  to  it; 
one  claiming  a  divine  origin  for  Jesus,  the  other  a  human;  one  insisting 
that  Mary  must  be  addressed  as  the  Mother  of  God,  the  other  as  the 
mother  of  Jesus;  one  claiming  that  the  communion  wine  and  wafer  con- 
sist of  the  blood  and  body  of  Christ,  the  other  that  they  are  only  per- 
meated with  his  spirit;  one  claiming  that  man  is  born  corrupted  with  the 
sin  of  Adam,  the  other  that  he  enters  life  sinless;  one  declaring  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  "proceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,"  the  other  omit- 
ting the  Son;  one  insisting  that  baptism  shall  consist  of  immersion  /;/ 
water,  the  other  of  sprinkling  with  water,-  and  so  on  through  a  whole 
catalogue  of  them.  Nay,  not  these  were  the  lights  and  benefactors  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

Christianity's  true  founders  and  preservers  were  not  theologians  but 
religious  people.  Paul,  the  Neo-Platonic  mystic,  was,  it  is  true,  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Church.  But  had  he  not  had  the  example  of  the 
noble  life  and  deeds  and  utterances  of  Jesus,  the  religious  Jew,  and  of 
his  religious  Jewish  apostles  and  disciples  and  followers,  to  hold  up  for 
admiration  and  imitation,  he  would  never  have  succeeded  in  planting 
Christianity  in  three  continents.  The  true  disseminators  of  Christianity, 
they  that  made  it  illustrious  among  the  religions  of  the  earth,  were  those 
religious  men  and  women,  who  went  forth  in  the  true  religious  spirit  of 
Jesus,  to  toil  self-sacrificingly  for  the  good  of  all  men  of  all  conditions,  to 
bring  liberty  to  the  oppressed,  help  to  the  needy,  comfort  to  the  sorrow- 
ing, hope  to  the  despairing,  light  to  the  erring,  and  to  extend  the  hand 
of  brotherhood  to  the  fallen  and  straying,  to  the  pariah  and  slave,  to  the 
publican  and  sinner. 

The  same  is  true  of  Buddhism.     Not  its  theologians,  who'  separated 
themselves   from  the  world   for  ascetic  practices  or  for  idle   profitless 
speculations,  not  those  theologians,  who  spun  out  their 
voluminous  commentaries  and  casuistries  and  systems,    Buddhism"1 
until  they  divided  their  Church  into  numerous  factions, 
have  made  Buddhism  the  largest  of  all  denominations,  and  in  point  of 
ethical  excellence  equal  even  to  the  best.     Not  the  theologians  of  the 
Hindoos,   but  their  religious  people  accomplished  this,  they,  who  like 
their  leader,  the  good  Buddha,  were  ready  to  surrender  station,  wealth, 
comfort,  pleasure,  ease,  for  the  good  of  suffering  humanity,  they  who  went 
forth  among  men  to  break  down  castes,  to  make  all  men  brethren,  to 
diffuse  the  sentiment  of  universal  peace  and  good  will,  and  to  extend  them 
even  to  the  lower  animal,  to  heal  and  to  aid  and  to  comfort,  to  educate 
and  to  elevate,  to  instil  a  love  of  truth,  of  justice,  of  tolerance,  of  .self- 
control,   and  who  are  amply  rewarded,  for  the   Buddhists  rank  to-day 

*See  controversies  of  the  Arians,  Pelagians,  Homoousians,  Homoionsians,  Eutych- 
iaiis,  Nestorians,  Transsubstantiationists,  Consubstantiatiouists,  Filioqnes. 


among  the  most  peaceful  and  industrious,  among  the  most  benevolent 
and  hospitable,  among  the  most  temperate  and  humane,  of  all  the  people 
on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  same  is  true  of  other  denominations.     While  the  Mohamedan 

theologians  wasted  their  time   and   energies   upon   splitting   the  worst 

teachings  of  the  Koran  into  a  labyrinthal^maze  of  doc- 

A?ohamedanism     trines>  an(^  divided  the  people  into  many  hostile  factions,. 

the   religious   people   took  the   best   teachings   of  their 

Scriptures,  the  beautiful  ethical  precepts,  and  with  them  civilized  and 

humanized  and  blessed  themselves,  and  millions  of  others. 

It  was  the  same  in  Greece.  While  the  theologians  clamored  for  the 
blood  of  Socrates,  declared  that  the  gods  would  visit  terrible  vengeance 

upon  the  nation  for  tolerating  the  heretic  and  infidel, 
In  Greece.  .  *      i  ••»  •       ••, 

the  innocently  accused  philosopher  was  busily  engaged 

in  helping,  teaching,  elevating,  ennobling,  his  fellowmen. 

It  is  the  same  to-day.  While  theologians  institute  courts  for  the  trial 
of  heretics,  split  up  people  into  factions,  create  confusion  and  discord, 

hurl  their  anathemas  against  the   heads  of  those,  who 
Same  true  to-dav.  ..•«_'•.  /-  ^     • 

share  not  their  views,  nor  perform  their  rites,  nor  pray  in 

their  language,  deny  even  the  right  of  fellowship  to  those  who  worship 
the  same  God,  in  the  name  of  the  same  denomination,  only  in  a  different 
form,  the  people  themselves,  more  religious  than  their  theological  leaders, 
toil  side  by  side,  hand  in  hand,  heart  with  heart,  in  work  of  love,  of 
charity,  of  education,  and  live  peacefully  and  helpfully  together  in  bro- 
therly love  and  good  will. 

Thus  we  see  that  not  the  theologians  of  a  denomination  but  its  reli- 
gious people  are  its  real  lights  and  propagators  and  benefactors.  And  we 
also  see  that  the  attitude  and  characteristics  of  theologians 
fra^'betw^eii00"'  ancl  reliRi°us  people  are  about  the  same  the  whole  world 
theologians  and  over.  Study  whatever  history  of  whatever  denomination 
we  may,  this  we  find  as  a  universal  characteristic: 

Theologians  preach — religious  people  practice.  Theologians  deaden 
the  heart, — religious  people  make  it  a  living  fountain  of  love  and  sym- 
pathy. Theologians  wound,  freeze,  darken,  divide, — religious  people  heal, 
warm,  illumine,  unite.  Theologians  deal  with  abstractions, — religious 
people  deal  with  facts.  Theologians  are  exclusive  and  narrow, — religious 
people  are  broad  and  cosmopolitan.  Theologians  are  arrogant,  intolerant, 
boastful,  they  delight  in  holding  other  creeds  up  to  scorn,  in  flaunting 
the  errors  of  others  before  their  hearers,  in  contrasting  their  worst  forms 
with  the  best  of  their  own, — religious  people  are  humble  and  tolerant, 
they  pity  the  errors  of  others  and  seek  to  hide  and  to  remove  them  by 
words  and  deeds  of  love  and  sympathy,  they  contrast  their  own  weak 
sides  with  the  best  of  other  creeds,  and  thus  set  a  stimulus  for  betterment 
before  them.  Theologians  make  forms  and  rites  and  creeds  the  end  of 
worship, — religious  people  make  them  the  means.  Theologians  say  to 
the  applicant  for  membership  you  must  first  be  purged  of  your  old  errors, 
you  must  be  newr-born,  converted,  immersed,  baptized,  confirmed, — reli- 


gious  people  stretch  forth  their  hands  and  say:  come  brother,  come  sister, 
and  be  welcome,  no  matter  what  your  former  belief,  or  present  belief, 
welcome  even  if  you  have  no  belief  at  all. 

Such  an  examination  of  the  actions  of  the  different  religious  people 
reveals  yet  more.  It  shows  that  not  only  are  their  actions  similar  but 

also  their  coifceptions  of  what  constitutes  religious  duty. 

-..,..  .  , .    .  Conceptions  of 

Whatever  definition  we  give  to  religion,  whether  that    religions  duty 

of  the  philosopher  or  scientist,  of  the  historian  or  philan-  allke- 
thropist,  none  is  so  narrow  or  so  deficient  as  not  to  include  every  form  of 
religion  that  was  or  is  extant  still.  All  start  with  similar  First  Principles 
of  Theology — a  Belief  in  Supreme  Power,  in  a  Hereafter — and  though 
their  conceptions  of  that  Supreme  Power  and  Hereafter  and  their  mode 
of  worship,  differ,  they  are  alike,  and  have  been,  in  their  conception  of 
the  highest  religious  duty.  Their  theologies  differ — their  religion  is  one. 
The  Golden  Rule  was  taught  and  followed  by  the  Chinese,  by  the  Greeks 
and  Latins,  by  the  Hebrews,  and  others,  long  before  the  advent  of 
Christianity.  Those  of  our  Ten  Commandments  that  relate  to  the  duties 
of  man  to  man  are  also  those  of  the  Buddhists.  Long  before  Christianity 
was  introduced  among  the  Norsemen,  Ingemund  the  Old,  bleeding  and 
dying,  prayed  God  to  forgive  Rolleif,  his  murderer.  The  virtue  of  re- 
turning good  for  evil,  of  rewarding  hatred  with  love,  of  thinking  and 
judging  and  acting  justly  and  charitably,  the  duty  of  being  hospitable 
to  the  stranger,  of  sharing  with  the  needy,  of  caring  for  the  aged  and 
infirm,  of  comforting  the  sorrowing  and  stricken,  of  self-control  and 
self-culture,  are  as  rigorously  enjoined  as  the  highest  religious  duty  upon 
the  Chinese,  the  Parsi,  the  Hindoo,  the  Arabian,  as  they  are  upon  Chris- 
tian or  Jew. 

It  is  the  same  melody  which  the  human  soul  has  brought  from  some 
other  sphere,  which  all,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  are  playing  and 
singing  still,  only  on  different  instruments,  with  different  voices,  in 
different  times  and  keys.  Some  have  elaborated  it  into  a  magnificent 
symphony,  with  others  it  is  as  monotonous  as  the  droning  of  the  bag- 
pipe. But  the  musical  ear  detects  the  same  melody  even  in  the  most 
unmusical  of  them  all.  Time  may  have  damaged  the  instrument*  or 
environment  may  have  prevented  the  development  of  the  voice,  yet  the 
melody  has  clung  to  the  human  soul,  whether  damaged  or  undeveloped, 
I  believe  with  the  poet 

"that  in  all  ages 
Every  human  heart  is  human, 
That  in  even  savage  bosoms 
There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings, 
For  the  good  they  comprehend  not; 
That  the  feeble  hands  and  helpless, 
Groping  blindly  in  the  darkness, 
Touch  God's  right  hand  in  that  darkness, 
And  are  lifted  up  and  strengthened." 

"Hiawatha,"  I,ongfellow. 


Yes,  mankind  is  one  religiously,  and,  but  for  the  theologians,  it 
might  have  constituted  one  religious  brotherhood.  And  what  has  not 
yet  been,  soon  may  be,  sooner  perhaps  than  any  of  us 
re-  believe.  The  theologian's  power  is  broken.  His  recent 
ligious  brother-  heresy-hunt  has  revealed  his  senile  weakness  and  his 
dotage.  Science,  that  has  already  helped  religion  much, 
will  help  it  yet  more.  With  every  day  it  increases  the  means  of  bringing 
the  whole  human  family  into  closer  contact.  Peoples,  long  separated, 
learn  to  understand  each  other,  and  to  copy  from  one  another.  The  like- 
ness of  their  First  Principles,  and  of  their  religious  aspirations  and  prac- 
tices, will  become  more  and  more  manifest,  and  hearts  will  soften  towards 
each  other,  and  the  sanctuary  of  the  one  will  be  holy  to  the  other,  and 
where  the  one  worships,  the  other  will  feel  he  too  might  worship. 

This  is  not  a  dream.  I  have  stood  in  Catholic  Cathedral,  in  Quaker 
Meeting-House,  in  Protestant  Church,  in  Mormon  Tabernacle,  in  Chinese 
Joss-House,  and  I  have  felt  within  them  all  the  same  reverence,  have  felt 
the  same  prayerful  feeling  come  over  me,  that  I  feel  within  the  synagogue. 
Within  each  I  felt  the  presence  of  the  Supreme  Power,  and  wherever  it 
is  present,  I  can  worship. 

I  remember  being  told  of  a  poor  Catholic  woman  straying  into  a 
synagogue,  one  Saturday  morning,  before  services  had  begun,  and  walking 
up  to  the  chancel  railing,  dropped  on  her  knees  a*nd  offered  her  prayers. 
The  Sexton  informed  her  of  her  mistake.  For  a  moment  she  seemed 
puzzled,  but,  regaining  her  self-possession,  she  remarked:  "And  to  be 
sure,  God  is  here  too."  That  pious  woman  uttered  in  these  few  words  a 
profounder  truth  than  even  she  herself  probably  grasped,  and  many 
generations  will  yet  pass  before  people  will  grasp  the  truth  that  God  is 
present  in  every  place  dedicated  to  Him,  by  whatever  name  it  be  design- 
ated, and  in  whatever  form  He  be  worshipped,  and  that  one  may  worship 
Him  in  one  place  or  form,  or  in  another,  and  not  give  offense  to  his  God, 
nor  do  violence  to  his  own  conscience. 

The  time  will  come  when  some  Reformer,  greater  than  all  that  have 
preceeded  him,  starting  from  the  premise  that  theologies  do,  and  must, 
and  will  differ,  but  that  religion  is  one,  will  set  himself 
wanted Ref0nUer  to  work  to  unite  the  whole  human  family  into  one  reli- 
gious brotherhood,  with  theological  liberty  for  each,  even 
as  now  thousands,  millions,  of  people  constitute  one  citizenry  or  nation- 
ality, without  sacrificing  their  right  of  managing  their  individual  house- 
holds as  suits  them  best.  Recognizing  that  the  First  Principles  of  all 
denominations,  the  basic  elements  of  their  modes  of  worship,  their  spirit- 
ual yearnings  and  expressions,  are  about  the  'same,  that  the  people  long 
to  commune  with  their  Supreme  Being,  to  bow,  or  to  kneel,  or  to  pros- 
trate themselves  before  the  Mysterious  Power  infinitely  greater  and  better 
than  themselves,  to  .stammer  before  it  their  thanks,  to  bring  to  it  their 
offerings,  to  confess  before  it  their  wrongs,  to  supplicate  it  for  aid,  to  con- 
secrate to  it  their  new-born,  their  betrothals,  marriages,  deaths,  and  other 
important  epochs  of  life,  to  place  before  themselves,  in  statue  or  painting, 


or  in  symbol,  their  great  heroes  and  benefactors,  for  inspiration  and 
imitation,  that  great  Reformer  of  the  future  will  set  himself  to  work  to 
contrive  a  mode  of  service,  which,  without  doing  violence  to  individual 
theological  conceptions,  will  satisfy  all  the  people's  inner  cravings,  and 
conform,  for  the  most  part,  in  outward  expression.  He  will  enable  the 
people  to  worship  at  home  or  abroad,  within  or  without  their  congrega- 
tion, with  brother  or  with  stranger,  in  almost  the  same  manner,  and  not 
feel  themselves  strange,  whether  in  synagogue  or  cathedral,  in  mosque  or 
joss-house,  in  pantheon  or  pagoda. 

It  will  be  a  gigantic  work.     It  will  require  a  Reformer,  who  will 
combine  within  himself  the  sagacity  of  a  Moses,  the  fire  of  an  Isaiah, 
the  self-sacrifice  of  a  Buddha,  the  sweetness  of  a  Jesus, 
the  zeal  of  a  Paul,  the  magnetism  of  a  Mohamed,  the 
fearlessness  of  a  Savanarola,  the  daring  of  a  lyuther.     But  he  will  come, 
with  all  these  traits,  and  will  achieve  this  glorious  end.     He  will  unite 
the  human  family  into  one  religious  brotherhood,  with  theological  free- 
dom for  all.     He  will  come,  for  it  is  right,  and  the  right,  in  the  long  run, 
and  in  due  time,  succeeds. 


SERIES  V.    1891— 1892. 


-  Theologies  many—  Religion  one. 
Who  w-rote  the  Pentateuch. 


r6. 


19- 

20. 


24 


Ninth  St.,  Philadelphia. 


and.  Wonderful  Discovery  in  Glasses* 

EYES  EXAMINED  FREE. 

I  have  just  completed  my  machinery,  after  years  of  experience  and 
labor,  for  GRINDING  MY  OWN  CELEBRATED  IVlpUNTAIN  CRYSTAL 
GLASSES,  which  have  no  equal  for  clearness  of  vision,  long  reading  and 
sewing,  and  for  strengthening  the  eyes.  Do  not  keep  on  trying  toreador 
sew  with  glasses  that  will  give  you  pain,  such  as  headache,  or  brings  you* 
eyes  in  such  a  condition  that  you  have  to  stop  work  for  a  time  to  rest 
them.  Such  cases  never  can  occur  when  once  you  wear  my  celebrated 
MOUNTAIN  CRYSTAL  GLASSES. 

>  It  is  not  alone  that  you  should  be  fitted  in  glasses  that  suit  you  cor- 
rectly, but  also  with  the  frame.  In  this  we  have  no  equal  My  own 
Patent  Eye-Glass  can  be  worn  with  perfect  ease  and  comfort  for  any 
length  of  time,  and  are  not  subject  to  tilting  or  falling  off  at  every  move- 
ment of  the  head  or  muscles,  which  is  invariably  the  case  with  the  Eye- 
Glasses  heretofore  in  use.  Occulists,  opticians,  scientific  men  and  women, 
in  fact  all  who  have  used  them,  are  unanimous  in  commending  them. 

ARTIFICIAL  EYES  INSERTED. 

MY    OWTST    PATE1VT     SPECTACLE, 

So  very  easy  on  the  nose  that  you  would  hardly  realize  that  yon  aiv. 
wearing  them.  And  all  my  other  styles  are  the  newest,  neatest  and  most 

stylish  made  glasses  in  Philadelphia. 

Solid  Gold  Crystal  Glasses,  $3  00  and  up.     I    EYES  EXAMINED  FREE  OF  CHARGE, 
Good  Steel  Crystal  Glasses,  $1  00  and  up.  GLASSES  WARRANTED, 


SCIENTIFIC    OPTICIAN, 

Open  every  Evening.  24  NORTH  NINTH  ST.,  PHILA. 

SPECIAL  ATTENTION  GIVEN  TO  FITTING  CHlLDFEN  WITH  GLASSES. 


THE 


.  614  Chestnut  Street. 


CUT  FLOWERS 


DECORATIONS. 


KRANICH    &   BACH 

WORLD-RENOWNED 

Grand,  Baby  Grand.  Square 

and  Upright  Pianos, 


MEHLIN  &  SON'S 

Cylinder  Top,  Famous  Upright 

Grand  Pianos, 

With  Patent  Tone  Muffler. 
For  Sale,  for  either  Cash  or  Time,  at 

306  *S*308  /IfrCH  ST. 

PHILADELPHIA. 

G.  HERZBERG. 


S.  W.  Cor.  Franklin  &  Green  Streets, 

Artistic  work  a  specialty.  FHILdDELPHI/L 

"Jewish  Converts  ani  Perverts*'5 


OF  EVERY  V/IRIETY 

PROMPTLY  EXECUTED  AT 


116 
NORTH  THIRD  STREET 

PHILdbELPHI/I 


Established 
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Telephone 
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ELEVEN  LECTURES  BY 
Rabbi  JOSEPH  KRAU3KOPF,  D.  D. 

!.  True  and  False  Converts. 

II.  Jesus— A  Jew,  and  not  a  Christian. 

III.  Paul— The  Jew  and  the  Gentile. 

IV.  Forced  Converts. 

V.  Allured  Perverts. 

V!    Spinoza— Not  a  Convert  nor  a  Pervert. 
VII      Brilliant  Women— Ignoble  Perverts. 

VIII.  Borne  and  Heine—  i  'erverts  through 

Christian  Intolerance. 

IX.  Isaac  Disraeli— A  Pervert  through 

Jewish  Intolerance. 

X.  Benj.  Disraeli— A  Convert  and  yet  a  Jew. 

XI.  The  Blank  Leaf  between  the  Old  and 

the  New  Testament 

Will  be  mailed  on  receipt  of 
50  cents. 

OSCAR  KLONOWER, 

PUBLISHER, 

1827  Park  Avenue,  Philadelphia. 


YB  22586 


^ 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


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